Energy

Gasification

At present, in terms of biomass, “gasification”, which is a thermo-chemical process, is considered as one of the best and most promising technologies to produce electric energy: both as far as efficiency and environmental impact are concerned. Each plant is subdivided into three sections, where three stages of the productive process are carried out: gasification, gas turbine and thermal cycle. During gasification, the wet biomass is conveyed into a drier making excess water evaporate. After being dried, biomass proceeds to the gasifier, where it is transformed in a synthetic gas composed of molecular nitrogen (N2), steam (H2O), carbon monoxide (CO), carbon dioxide (C2), molecular hydrogen (H2), methane (CH4) and a small fraction of heavier hydrocarbons. Then the synthetic gas is cooled and filtered to eliminate dust, contaminants (cyanic acid, ammonia and hydrogen chloride) and organic compounds (phenols and fatty acids). After being compressed, it is ready to operate the gas turbine where it will be burnt to heat the air to be conveyed to the thermal cycle. In the last section of the plant a boiler recovers the heat contained in the air coming from the gas turbine and produces steam for another turbine, which will operate the electric current generator.